26. Chapter Twenty-Six
Chapter Twenty-Six
Griffin’s Beach Undertaker
P ulling up to his house, Undertaker knows the men are gone. The driveway’s empty, and the door is wide open. He walks inside with Colt and Shep behind him while the others wait for direction.
The couch cushions have been slashed, and the stuffing lays across the floor. All of the kitchen chairs and the table are smashed. Colt bends down and picks up pieces of rope underneath the wood, and Undertaker’s fists clench when he sees the strip of duct tape sticking out from another piece.
“I guess this is where they tied her down,” Colt says. “Hey, why’s my wife suddenly so pissed at you?”
“Not sure,” he lies and walks over to the TV on the floor.
A bat or some other object was used to hit it, and small pieces of glass lay around it. Beside it are the end tables in multiple pieces. For some odd reason, they didn’t touch the coffee table.
“Holy fuck,” Shep says. “Honestly, I expected my house to look like this after Heidi found out I’d been with Cinder.”
“I don’t think her dad likes you with his daughter,” Colt says as they move into the kitchen where the microwave has been torn from the wall above the stove.
Everything is broken or destroyed, and Undertaker’s just grateful he has the money to replace it all. Looks like he’s upgrading this place.
“Oh fuck,” Shep calls from the master bedroom. “Jamie can’t see this until we fix it. We’ll call the Prospects to paint.”
The words BIKER WHORE have been spray painted above what used to be his bed. The bed that now sits in two pieces after being cut down the middle.
“Did he bring a Sawzall in here?” Colt mutters. “Jesus.”
“Any idea where the assholes live?” Shep asks.
Shaking his head, all Undertaker can think about is how much of this was done while Jamie was tied to a fucking chair. “No idea.”
“What do you want to do here, Taker?” Colt asks. “Find him and teach him a lesson?”
“No.”
“No?”
Turning to look at him, Undertaker knows it’s not best for the club. “We have enough heat on us right now with Beckett and Brock still locked up. The last thing we need is the cops getting called on us to add to the collection of Drifters in the joint. At least until we get shit sorted out.”
“So… We came here for nothing?” Shep asks.
“If they were still here, I’d be defending my home. Going to their house makes it retaliation. We just can’t afford it right now.”
Colt nods. “The calmness in you right now has me a little freaked out, but I can’t say I disagree. As long as Jamie’s okay, I think we can hold off for a bit.”
“Motherfuckers,” he mutters as they walk back out to their bikes.
L ex sits on top of the bar, her leg crossed over the other with her foot shaking while Jamie sits at a table not far away. The gun, luckily, appears to have been put away.
All Undertaker wants to do is pull Jamie into his arms, but Lex hops off the bar and walks over to him to jab a finger against his chest. “You. Me. Chapel. Now.”
He lifts an eyebrow, and Jamie doesn’t meet his gaze. She does pale even more than she already is, but he knows he’s not getting out of this conversation.
“He’s in trouble,” Venom mutters as the doors shut.
“Jamie looks scared—”
As soon as the Chapel doors shut, Lex whips around and jabs a finger at his chest. “What the fuck is the deal with the fucking rules?”
“What are you talking about?”
She crosses her arms over her chest and glares at him. “You control her?”
Eyes wide, he leans back. “No, I don’t!”
“You have to approve who she can hang around with? Seriously?”
“She told you that?”
“Oh, don’t even get after her for that. You opened the can of worms when you uttered the word rules on the phone with me. She just filled in the blanks.”
He cracks his knuckles and leans against the wall, annoyed with this inquiry. This is none of Lex’s business. “You’re out of line, Alexis.”
“Oh, now you think you’re big enough to call me by my full name? You ain’t shit, so let’s get that straight right now. I’m not scared of you, and you’re not intimidating me.”
“It’s not your bus—”
“You made her your old lady—sort of—which makes it my business. Whether you like it or not, you made her my responsibility when you brought her in here.”
Narrowing his eyes, he stays quiet. He thought she was angry because she has an opinion of their relationship, but that’s not the vibe he gets now. But she’s fired up about something.
“Look, I know shit in those BDSM books have glorified the whole stalker-like tendencies, but it’s not cute. It’s not romantic, and controlling who she can and can’t talk to at twenty-two is crazy,” Lex says.
“She knew the rules before anything started,” he snaps at her. “I told her from the very beginning I was no good for her, but she didn’t want to listen. She wants the rules as much as I need them.”
“Need them?”
Undertaker’s hands lift into the air. “Look, this is my relationship, not yours.”
“You have the power to break her. She’s losing all control over her own life, so if you wake up one day and decide you don’t want her anymore, it’ll be like killing her. That’s what you’ve set her up for.”
“Wait, you’re worried I’m going to hurt her?”
“She’s not allowed to have a support system outside of you. And the club, I guess, so you better be damn sure you’re in this for the long haul. If the appeal of whatever fantasies you have wears off, you’ve put her into a position to completely shatter. I’ve been there, and it sucks.”
Letting out a deep breath, all anger and defensiveness wears away. She’s worried about Jamie. “Are you planning to share this with Colt?”
“Not unless I think he needs to step in and do something. Look, what you do in your relationship is between you two, but I’m telling you right now that if you hurt her, I will find a way to hurt you in return. I like her. I think she’s sweet. So, if you’re not all the way in this, walk away.”
“So, you don’t think this fucked up? You’re just worried about her?”
Lex juts out her chin and drops her jaw as she blinks at him a few times.
“Oh, I totally think this is fucked up, but like you said, I don’t get a say in your relationship.
But you didn’t see her when we left there, Undertaker.
She was visibly shaking in the passenger seat because she broke a rule.
She was scared you were mad and would leave her. ”
Closing his eyes, he leans his head back against the wall. That night outside the bar affected her more than he thought. “I’m not going to leave her.”
“It sounds like you have already. Women don’t miss patterns. Some women choose to ignore them, but they’re always there for us. Trust me.”
“Thanks, Lex.”
“For threatening you? Oh, baby, anytime.”
A conversation needs to be had with Jamie. He knew something was wrong, but he didn’t think she’s be scared that he would leave her again. Not over something out of her control.
He walks out of the Chapel and crouches down when he reaches Jamie. “We gotta stay somewhere else for a few days,” he says, his voice as soft as he can make it. “The house is more than a little destroyed.”
“Here?” Jamie asks, but her eyes don’t meet his.
“No, not here. We’ll get a room at the hotel. We need some privacy to talk.”
Tears fill her eyes, but she nods. “Okay.”
The fear she feels makes him hate himself, and it doesn’t help when he looks up to find Lex leaning against the wall outside the Chapel glaring at him with arms crossed over her chest. It feels like he just had a conversation with Jamie’s protective big sister, and he kind of loves Lex for it.
She admitted to feeling responsible for Jamie, and he has someone else looking out for his girl.
Now, he just needs to figure out how to fix things with Jamie. His rules are supposed to prevent this type of situation from happening, but clearly he’s failed.
“ I didn’t ignore your calls, I swear,” Jamie says as soon as the hotel door shuts. “I was tied up and couldn’t answer. My dad and Ron attacked when I got home—”
“I’m not mad at you, Jamie,” Undertaker says.
Her lip trembles, and she sits down on the bed.
“I didn’t mean to tell Lex about the rules.
I’m not sure if they’re supposed to be a secret, but she said she already knew.
And you know her. She doesn’t exactly let up.
But I told her I was fine with them. That I felt like I’m becoming who should be. ”
Crouching down in front of her, he rests his hands on her legs. “She ripped me a new one in that clubhouse, baby doll. She’s worried about you. But more than that, she told me how scared you were that I would leave you.”
“I am.”
Am. Not was. Damn it.
“The rules aren’t meant to be a fear tactic, Jamie. They’re supposed to help keep us in a solid place, but I don’t think that’s what’s happening here.”
“I love you,” she whispers, shocking him even as she looks at him with glossy eyes. “I’ve known for a while, and it makes the thought of you walking away from me again terrifying. The last time I broke the rules, you almost shipped me away.”
“You love me?”
She blinks but nods. “It’s why I know I can’t break the rules. If you leave me again, I don’t know what I’ll do. I don’t know if this is what was supposed to happen, but I’m in love with you.”
He cups her face and rubs her cheeks with his thumbs, spreading her tears beneath them. “I told you that night it’s you and me. We’re going to figure out how this works, and it kills me to know you’re this scared of me walking away. I’m not walking away, baby doll.”
“I never quite know what you’re thinking or how you feel. I try and pick up little cues here and there, but you always keep at enough of a distance that I don’t know. Then I started wondering if the rules were somehow to keep you at a distance. Didn’t work for me, but what do I know?”
“I don’t mean to do that,” he whispers. “You amaze me, baby doll.”
Chuckling, Jamie shakes her head but doesn’t force his hands away. “I do?”
“I was in foster care,” he says. “My mom killed my dad and then hung herself while I was in the house. I was only four.”
Her eyes widen, and she blinks out a few more tears. “I’m so sorry.”
“Foster home after foster home brought the harsh reality that nothing’s permanent. Each house was worse than the last until I got bigger and could take care of myself. And once I got tough, I could protect my foster siblings.”
“You’re a natural born protector.”
Turning her head, she kisses his palm. It’s nothing big, but it’s a small token of affection that makes him never want to see her cry again.
“When my foster sibling didn’t come home, it was a crap shoot whether something bad happened or not.
Some ran away, some joined gangs, and I had one foster sister who died at the hands of our foster father.
Not knowing where the people I care about are—the people I’ve taken on the role of protecting—makes me restless. Helpless. And I hate feeling that way.”
“Is that who Aaron is?” she asks and points to his chest where his tattoo sits. A cross engulfed in flames with the name Aaron across it on a banner. “Was he a friend or brother you lost?”
“He was my best friend. A firefighter, and he died when I was overseas. His sister, Nina, has the matching one.”
The tears have stopped, but he knows she wants to cry for him. It goes without saying that being in the military means he lost even more brothers and sisters.
“Do you still talk to Nina?” she asks.
“Uh, no. Nina was the first woman I ever truly loved. One of only two, but she couldn’t handle my rules. She was convinced I’d change, and she went out of her way to defy them. When I didn’t, she walked away.”
Swallowing, Jamie looks scared again as she searches his eyes. “Do you still love her?”
“Part of me will always love her,” Undertaker answers honestly. “Aaron was the closest thing I had to a family, and she’s the only person in the world who understands the pain I feel from losing him. We found a way to grieve together, but we weren’t meant to be.”
She forces a smile and nods. “That makes sense.”
“I’ve never told anyone about my past before,” he says. “Not even Aaron, and we’d known each other since we were fifteen. I don’t trust many people, but I do trust you, baby doll.”
A real smile spreads across her face. “You do?”
“I love you, too,” he whispers and kisses her softly. “I hadn’t planned on it. Hell, everything with us I didn’t plan, but I also can never walk away.”
Lunging into his arms, she clings to him as she buries her face into his neck. He smiles as she says, “I’ve been trying to figure out if you felt the same way for so long now. It’s been killing me not to tell you how I feel.”
“Why didn’t you just say it?” he asks with a chuckle.
“Because I was scared of what you’d say if you didn’t love me back. I love you, Undertaker.”
“Frances.”
She leans back and looks at him with her face scrunched. “Pardon?”
“If you’re going to love me, you should know my birth name was Frances before it was changed. The only two people on this planet who know that are you and Nina, and she only knows because she knew me before I enlisted.”
Tilting her head, she gives him a watery smile. “You trust me enough to share two things you’ve never told anyone else?”
“I do.”
“Make love to me.”
“I thought you’d never ask, baby doll. But no more tears. I can’t stand it when you cry. Especially if it’s because of me.”